What is a 'Great Film Scene'
'A Great and Defining Film Moment'?
Greatest Film Scenes: In the history of cinema, there
are literally hundreds and hundreds of fabled, Memorable
Moments and Scenes from a wide range of films (composed
of either a few seconds long, a short sequence, or a long
extended scene). They are our memories of segments of films
that have achieved a life of their own. They compel us to
remember and 'relive' the moment, either with fondness or
with fear. However, the defining film moments and iconic images don't always appear in the 'greatest films' of all time.
Examples of Greatest Film Scenes: Remember Marilyn Monroe standing above a subway grating
with her white dress blowing up in The Seven
Year Itch, or visualize Charlie Chaplin tramping along,
or Clint Eastwoood's retort to a bank robber "...you've got to ask yourself
one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?" in Dirty Harry, or the line: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" from Gone With the Wind, or recall the
fog-shrouded airport scene at the conclusion of Casablanca,
or the bloody beach landing in the opening half-hour of Saving Private Ryan, or the screeching of violins before Marion Crane was stabbed to death in the shower scene in Psycho, or Popeye Doyle in his car chasing a Manhattan subway in The
French Connection, or the underwater attack in the opening of Jaws, or Humphrey Bogart taking leeches off
his body after dragging The African Queen through the muck, or Judy Garland singing "Over the Rainbow" in The Wizard of Oz, or Charlton Heston's sighting of the Statue of Liberty at the conclusion of Planet of the Apes, or the bloody bursting of the alien creature from John Hurt's stomach in Alien, or James Stewart's
one-man filibuster on the floor of Congress in the finale of Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington. These are memorable, defining film moments and
some of the all-time best scenes or images in motion pictures -
a tribute to the stars and scenarios that have made an indelible
imprint upon our memories - and can't be forgotten.
For fun, take a Greatest
Moments and Film Scenes Mini-Quiz - how many can
you recognize? Or see an extensive textual and visual compilation
of selected Greatest Moments and Scenes from Great Films located
in the Tribute to the 100 Greatest Film
Scenes. TV Guide compiled their own ranked list of the 50
Greatest Movie Moments of All Time, and also see film critic
Roger Ebert's selections of 100
Great Movie Moments (illustrated) and the compiled list
of clips included in Chuck Workman's 100
Years at the Movies. On the flip-side, see this site's The
Most Controversial Films (and Scenes) of All-Time.
A Defining or Great Film Moment/Scene
|
Key Ingredients
|
Film Examples
|
a striking, cinematically-beautiful image
|
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
or
Ethan Edwards (John Wayne)
outside the doorway in
The Searchers (1956)
|
a
spectacular action (with large crowd) sequence
See Greatest Crowd Film Scenes
and
Greatest Chase
Film Scenes
|
Ben-Hur (1959)
or
the SF car chase in Bullitt (1968)
|
a
well-designed, innovative opening (or title) sequence
See also Greatest Opening Film Lines
and
Greatest Film Entrances of All-Time
|
Vertigo (1958)
or
the underwater attack on skinny-dipping
Chrissie in Jaws
(1975)
|
a plot twist
See Best Plot Twists, Surprise Endings,
Spoilers
|
The Sixth Sense (1999)
or
the crop-dusting plane scene in
North by Northwest (1959)
|
a memorable death scene
See Best
Film Deaths Scenes
|
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
or
Col. Kurtz' sacrificial death in
Apocalypse Now (1979)
|
a tear-inducing, emotional ending
See Greatest
Tearjerker Films, Moments and Scenes
|
Casablanca (1942)
or
Laura's goodbye to Alec in
Brief Encounter (1945)
|
a brilliant special-effects technique
See Film
Milestones in Visual and Special Effects
|
Jurassic Park (1993)
or
the destruction of the Death Star battle station in
Star Wars (1977)
|
a surprising revelation, or unexpected shock
See Best Plot Twists, Surprise Endings,
Spoilers
|
The Usual Suspects (1995)
or
the revelation of Dil's true gender to Fergus in
The Crying Game (1992)
|
a memorable song or dance
See Musical Films Genre
and
Greatest Musical
Song/Dance Movie Moments and Scenes
|
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
or
"The Hills are Alive" in
The Sound of Music (1965)
|
a dramatic entrance, appearance or
introduction
See Greatest
Movie Entrances of All-Time
|
Stagecoach (1939)
or
Sherif Ali's entrance in
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
|
a romantic scene
See Romance
Films Genre
and
Best and Most Memorable
Film Kisses of All Time
in Cinematic History
|
Ghost (1990)
or
the compilation of filmed
love scenes and kisses in
Cinema
Paradiso (1988, It./Fr.)
|
a sexually-charged, or infamous sex/nudity
scene
See this site's extensive sections on:
Sexual/Erotic
Films Sub-Genre
and
Sex in Cinema: Greatest and Most Influential
Erotic / Sexual Films and Scenes
and
The Most
Controversial Films of All-Time
|
Swordfish (2001)
or
the steamy seduction sequence between
Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke in
9 1/2 Weeks (1986)
|
a memorable scene from a major box-office disaster or flop
See also Greatest Box-Office Bombs, Disasters and Flops:
The Most Notable Examples
|
Howard the Duck (1986)
or
the opening waltz scene
in Heaven's Gate (1980)
|
an extended opening or closing sequence
See also Greatest
Opening Film Lines and Quotes
and
Greatest Last Words
and Film Lines
|
The Godfather, Part II (1974)
or
the opening of Manhattan (1979)
|
a unique characterization
|
The Star Wars Trilogy (1977-1983)
or
the title character in Edward Scissorhands (1990)
|
a transcendental moment
|
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
or
the appearance of the Mothership in
Close Encounters of the Third
Kind (1977)
|
an unforgettable soliloquy/monologue
See Best
Film Speeches and Monologues
|
25th Hour (2002)
or
"You're talkin' to me?..." in
Taxi Driver (1976)
|
an indelible quote, or choice lines
of dialogue
See Greatest
Movie Quotes
|
"Here's lookin' at you, kid."
Casablanca (1942)
or
"I coulda been a contender"
speech in
On the Waterfront (1954)
|
a shocking, heart-stopping, terrifying, horrific
moment
See Scariest
Moments and Scenes
|
Planet of the Apes (1968)
or
the shock ending of Carrie (1976)
|
a comic scene
See Funniest
Moments and Scenes
|
Some Like It Hot (1959)
or
the Oscar Peterson album scene in
Play It Again, Sam (1972)
|
a slow-building, tense sequence
See Scariest
Moments and Scenes
|
The Birds (1963)
or
the 12-noon shootout in
High Noon (1952)
|
a truly scary moment, revelation or sequence
See Scariest
Moments and Scenes
|
Alien (1979)
or
the shock ending of
Fatal Attraction (1987)
|
a spectacular, exhilarating disaster scene
See Greatest
Disaster Film Scenes
|
The Good Earth (1937)
or
the sinking of the Titanic in Titanic (1997)
|
a memorable screen kiss
See Best
and Most Memorable Film Kisses of All Time
in Cinematic History
|
Cold Mountain (2003)
or
the many kisses in Vertigo (1958)
|
a controversial, shocking, or horrific
scene
See The
Most Controversial Films of All-Time
|
Last Tango in Paris (1972)
or
the rape sequence
in A Clockwork Orange (1971)
|
|